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What is your most-anticipated game of 2013?

2012 isn't even finished yet, and 2013 is already shaping up to be a huge year for gaming.

Regardless of which games come out on top of the many "best of 2012" polls being run here on Screen Play, the real winner is you, the gaming public. 2012 has been a fantastic year for games of all kinds, with both sequels to old favourites and brand new properties topping the charts.

2013 is already looking set to be even bigger. The traditional January-to-April gaming drought, when we usually catch up on our piles of unfinished games, will be packed with must-play new releases next year. God only knows when we'll get time for some catch-up. May and June, perhaps?

The games will already be arriving by the middle of January, a period traditionally devoid of any game releases, let alone highly-anticipated sure-fire hits. Only three weeks after Christmas, the new reboot of Devil May Cry, titled simply DmC, will finally be released. I have had some hands-on time with this title, and I love it - it plays well, feeling like classic Devil May Cry, but the visual overhaul is jaw-dropping, moving the action to bizarre nightmare worlds. You'll still be juggling demons with your guns, but with a whole new style.

Also in January, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch will also go on sale. This PS3 exclusive has been out in Japan for ages, but its English-language release is finally just around the corner. A co-production between Level 5 - of Professor Layton fame - and legendary animation house Studio Ghibli, it mixes stunningly beautiful visuals with deep tactical battles. I had brief hands-on time earlier in the year, and it really is like interacting with a Miyazaki film.

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In February, things start to get serious, and the release schedule starts to get crowded. Dead Space 3 will be first up, and while the series has lost most of its terror, it's still a damned good third person shooter. In the middle of the month, Gearbox's addition to the Alien franchise touches down, the long-awaited and once rumoured to be cancelled Aliens: Colonial Marines.

A week later, two great new action titles will turn up on the same day. Crysis 3, the extremely fun and ridiculously pretty first person shooter, will arrive on retail shelves alongside Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. The latter is not a traditional stealthy Metal Gear game, but is instead an over-the-top action splatterfest, featuring the most gruesome swordplay outside of a Ninja Gaiden title.

Wrapping up February will be what many believe will be the Wii U's first real killer app: Rayman Legends. Forget New Super Mario Bros U, with its screen-tapping block placement. Rayman legends is the game that will show exactly how many cool innovations the Wii U gamepad can add to a platform game. I've played it several times now, and I never get bored of it. This will be a must-buy for Wii U early adopters.

March is when things start to get downright silly, with a huge number of blockbuster games coming out in rapid-fire succession. First we will see the triumphant return of a long absent gaming favourite: SimCity. It's been a decade or so since the last SimCity release, and Maxis has spent that time making something incredibly innovative, intuitive, and fun. The new Glass Box engine simulates every member of your population individually, making for extraordinarily deep and complex gameplay.

Also in March, arriving on the same day as SimCity, is Crystal Dynamics' wonderful new Tomb Raider reboot. I will have an interview and preview up next week, but for now just know that it is a fantastic revision of the aging franchise, and makes Lara Croft really interesting again for the first time in many years. Not so for God of War: Ascension, which appears to be the same old Kratos. Still, fans of that series who want more of the same will not be disappointed.

Kratos will definitely be outshone by Kerrigan, with StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm landing on shelves on the same day as God of War. It's been a long wait since the first chapter of StarCraft II, the human-focused Wings of Liberty, and fans of the series are desperate for new content. Expect this one to shift a lot of units. A week later, fan-favourite Xbox 360 exclusive Gears of War will also be making a comeback, with spin-off title Gears of War: Judgment.

Toward the end of March, a strong contender for 2013 game of the year will launch, the long-awaited and frequently-delayed Bioshock Infinite. As opposed to the quick knock-off nature of Bioshock 2, this is a proper sequel, created by the original Bioshock team. Leaving behind the damp depths of Rapture, Infinite will be set on Columbia, a bizarre flying city full of racists and crazed nationalists. Preview gameplay footage looks astonishing, and I can't wait.

It's a little sad that Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel will be released on the same day, and will no doubt be lost in the flood of Bioshock love. Army of Two has been a fairly terrible series, but EA's decision to give it to Dead Space developers Visceral seems to have paid off. It isn't a classic, but the co-operative gameplay is a lot of fun, and it deserves to shift a few units and redeem the franchise a little.

Finally, we will have Dead Island: Riptide, the sequel to the cult-favourite Dead Island, in April, and naughty Dog's brand new opus The Last of Us in May. As a former Uncharted fan who got fed up with the series going on too long with too few fresh ideas, I am thrilled about The Last of Us. It takes Naughty Dog's industry-defining digital storytelling and free-flowing gameplay and places it in a whole new setting with brand new characters that we will no doubt learn to care about. This one is game of the year material.

A bunch of other games have been announced for a 2013 release but don't have definite release dates yet. Metro: Last Light is out in March, and I am very impatient to get my hands on it. I was a huge fan of Metro 2033, despite its many issues, and Last Light looks set to improve upon it in every way. Beyond: Two Souls, from the makers of Heavy Rain, is set for release in May. I'm not a fan, but I know Heavy Rain has its champions here on Screen Play, so no doubt Beyond will be a popular title.

Of course, one of the biggest releases of 2013 will definitely be Grand Theft Auto V. GTA IV broke sales records, despite being a bit of a disappointment for long-time fans of the series, and GTA V looks set to fix every complaint fans had of Niko's adventure in Liberty City. We've been promised a gigantic environment reminiscent of San Andreas, with both urban areas and wilderness, and everything in between. It looks amazing, and we should be playing it within six months.

Other cool-looking titles with no definite release dates yet include Fuse, ARMA III, Company of Heroes 2, Watch Dogs, Injustice: Gods Among Us, Total War: Rome II, The Cave, Remember Me, South Park: The Stick of Truth, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Lost Planet 3.

Which 2013 game releases are you most looking forward to? Tell us all about it in the comments below.

- James "DexX" Dominguez

DexX is on Twitter: @jamesjdominguez

34 comments so far

GTA V without a doubt is the game I'm most keen on, although I don't want hype to spoil it.

The new Simcity will probably be a definite purchase. Can't wait to get back into Simcity after so many years.

Watch Dogs is also high on my list after watching that amazing video.

The Elder Scrolls MMO is interesting too and and keen to see how it pans out. Might make me give up WoW.

Commenter

Joka

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 7:22AM

Tomb Raider, The Last of Us, GTA V.

Commenter

jack219

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 8:08AM

I'd say Bioshock . GTA5 would be up there . I enjoyed GTA4 but if its just a cut n paste more of the same I wont be that impressed. think its time for the series to mix it up a little

dead space 3 also. I only recently played 2 and I really enjoyed it

Commenter

mongey

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 8:08AM

So many games next year. South Park, Bioshock, GTAV and Sim City are probably sitting at the top of my list.

Commenter

Hewso

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 8:09AM

GTAV, can't wait.

Commenter

Dave B

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 8:50AM

Next year's a corker. Poor wallet, etc.

GTAV is the big'un. No doubt it'll be day 1.

Metal Gear Rising, The Last of Us, Gears of War, Beyond and potentially South Park and Ni No Kuni will be definite purchases for me. The rest I can sit and weight on for a bargain.

Anyone else not as enthused by Bioshock Infinite now? I'm sure it'll be great, but I just don't think I need to have it immediately.

Commenter

js

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 8:50AM

Ni No Kuni, Gears of War, Bioshocl and DMC will be the games i'm looking forward to most.

Everytime i read about Ni No Kuni and Level 5 and Studio Ghibli working together i get chills down my spine.

Commenter

shads

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 8:51AM

i meant God of War. and Bioshock Infinite

and i forgot the Last of Us

Commenter

shads

Date and time

December 14, 2012, 9:14AM

Europa Universalis IV of course! Tracking for a Q3 release. Paradox are getting going with their development diaries already and they have made big changes to EU3. If nothing else the diaries are worth reading just for the insight into games development and the process behind the scenes.